The Aardvark Blog

The brilliance of independent shops!
13/02/2023

Yesterday when I was driving into the bookshop I had a bit of an epiphany. I was looking for something to listen to and saw my three CD Eric Legnini Afrobeat set. Putting on the first CD I remembered how I had come to buy it. We had seen Eric Legnini at the late lamented Brecon Jazz festival and passing a branch of one of the Harmonia Mundi record shops in France, we went in to see if we could buy one of his CDs. The young female assistant told us about the Afrobeat set and on her advice we bought it. That was about ten years ago and it remains one of my favourite jazz records. But for her brilliant service we would never have been aware of its existence.

Sadly the mini Harmonia Mundi chain is no more, but for people in the Marches who are interested in music, we have the brilliant Mod Lang in Ludlow whose unrivalled knowledge of pop, blues and jazz has been built up over many decades.

Living in the Marches we are really lucky that there are still lots of independents and mini chains. Tuffins in Craven Arms is brilliant for all sorts of food items (their frozen section is the best I have ever seen). For wine why not try Tanners in Shrewsbury and Hereford, or the fantastic Bentleys in Ludlow. When you come out of Bentleys, turn left along the Square and in seconds you will find yourself in the scrummy Chocolate Gourmet. So much expertise at one's fingertips, and I could have named many other shops just as easily.

For books, we have many brilliant independent booksellers not only in the Marches area but all over the UK whose service and book recommendations are excellent and who keep the literary world buzzing with enthusiasm, and perform the much-needed role of bringing writers and books outside the top ten bestseller lists to well-deserved wider public attention. Never underestimate the commitment and hard work it takes to continue doing this in the current economic and retail climate. (And I don't just mean us!)

(One way to get a sense of this without actually going to your local bookshop, is to have a look at  https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/aardvarkbookscafe and then browse for books...)

On another topic, last Thursday night saw us with a large gathering at the Ludlow Brewery to say goodbye to Hannah James who after five years is moving on from her role as organiser of the Ludlow Food Festival events. Hannah has been fantastic to work with, and notwithstanding the negative impact of COVID, we have had some of our best festival experiences during her tenure. She will be much missed and we wish her well in her new adventures.